Three houses, seven shops gutted in fire in Doda district

Doda: At least three houses and seven shops were gutted in a fire in this hilly district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said.

The fire broke out in a house at Kahara village, 45 km from here, around 4.30 am and quickly spread to adjoining structures, a police official said.

He said the fire and emergency services rushed to the spot and managed to douse the flames after an hour-long operation.

A total of three houses and seven shops belonging to five different owners were damaged, the official said.

He said timely action of fire and emergency services and police averted a major tragedy as the fire happened in the densely-populated market and most of the structures are made of dry cedar and pine wood.

Efforts were on to ascertain the cause of the fire, the official said. (PTI)